Hospitality Students Prepare for National Competition

WELTEC Hospitality Students Prepare for National Cooking & Restaurant Service Competition

Students from the Wellington Institute of Technology’s (WelTec) School of Hospitality are aiming to bring home the top trophy from the Nestlé Toque d’Or competition next week.

Fresh from winning the International Culinary Cooking Competition at Johnson County Community College in Kansas USA the WelTec team is hoping to make it two in a row when they go head to head with other hospitality teams from around New Zealand.

WelTec students Daniel Baird (who works at Taylors on Jackson Street), Gabby Prestidge (Five Boroughs Restaurant Wellington) and Josh Salter (Spotless Catering at Westpac Stadium) will put their culinary and restaurant service skills to the test in the event which celebrates a 25 year milestone birthday this year.

WelTec Head of Hospitality Ben Shadbolt said positions on the team were highly sought after, with fierce competition coming from students attending WelTec’s cookery, patisserie and front of house programmes, “The Nestlé Toque d’Or competition is a fantastic opportunity for our talented students to showcase their culinary and front of house skills. Daniel Baird was part of the winning WelTec combination who took out the top prize in Kansas last month and we’re hoping our success can be repeated in Auckland.”

The students are being put through their final paces for the competition and along with their usual study programme and work they have committed 20 hours per week for the last two months to prepare for this competition. “It’s great to see these young students striving for excellence and demonstrating such commitment – these are the traits that will serve them well when they start working full-time in industry at the completion of their programme of study,” says Mr Shadbolt.

WelTec Chefs Scott Campbell and Ray Morrell, along with Hospitality Tutor Peter Besseling will be keeping a close eye on contenders and supporting the student team as they head to Auckland next week to battle it out in a live kitchen.

The annual event pits the country’s top talents against each other in an event that has been hotly contended for many years. Last year WelTec students Ryan Bloomfield, Maxine Scheckter and Nicolas Abril won gold and silver medals plus an Innovation Award.

Teams have to battle against the clock and each other in a live cooking arena set up to replicate a working restaurant.

Sponsors are: Nestlé Professional, Beef + Lamb New Zealand, vegetables.co.nz, Akaroa Salmon, House of Knives and Moffat.

Nestlé Toque d’Or will be held on 30 July at the Auckland Showgrounds. An awards dinner will be held later in the evening where the winning team will be announced.

ENDS

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